The Wisconsin Green Party has just until the end of May to get Sharyl McFarland on the ballot for Secretary of State, and we need your help!

We are looking for volunteers to help gather signatures, and we are willing to pay people to petition as well. If you’re able to help, please contact us at [email protected] or sign up on our website and we’ll get in touch.

Click here for a printable PDF of the petition sheet to get Sharyl McFarland on the ballot.

Click here for a flyer with basic information about Sharyl McFarland to use while petitioning.

We have petition captains in Milwaukee and Madison who you can drop off completed petitions with - contact us at [email protected] to make arrangements.

You can also mail completed, certified petitions to our PO Box at
Wisconsin Green Party, PO Box 108, Madison, WI 53701-1701

The deadline for mailing petitions to make sure they arrive in time is Wednesday May 25. If you have petitions that you need to deliver after May 25, please contact us at [email protected] to make arrangements.

Read on for more information as well as petitioning rule and tips.

Sharyl McFarland is a Milwaukee organizer who has spent decades working for social justice and human rights. Her work addresses problems including voter suppression, racial inequalities, mass incarceration, homelessness, rights for immigrants, poverty, the lack of adequate transportation, healthcare, and more.

To get Sharyl on the ballot, we need 2000 verified signatures from eligible Wisconsin voters. In order to have a safe margin to overcome any potential challenges, we’ve set a goal of 2500. We need a little over 100 signatures per day between now and June 1st to achieve our goal. That’s doable - but only if everyone who’s able to help does their part.

Sharyl McFarland has fought for over 20 years to give marginalized people a voice. She’s a fantastic candidate to represent the Green Party - and an important voice to interject into the political conversation as the establishment parties continue to fail the people.

If we get Sharyl on the ballot, the Wisconsin Green Party can regain our ballot line that we lost in 2020 when the Democrats threw Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker off the ballot. If we can get just 1% of the vote for Secretary of State we may not even have to petition for the presidential election in 2024, which would protect our candidates from a costly legal battle like in 2020.

We can make 2022 the year of a big Green comeback - but we need your help to make sure we don’t miss this opportunity.

If you’re able to gather signatures as a volunteer or paid petitioner, please contact us at [email protected] or sign up on our website and we’ll get in touch.

Thank you for everything you do to help build the movement for people, planet, and peace over profit!

Ballot access rules and regulations

1. Signatures must be collected from April 15 to June 1. The deadline for filing completed petitions (along with other required campaign filings) is 5pm on June 1 at the Wisconsin Elections Commission office in Madison.
2. Candidates for statewide office need 2000 valid signatures. Candidates may file up to twice the number of signatures needed.
3. Petitions may be challenged after they are filed, and signatures may be ruled invalid. For this reason, it is recommended that candidates file significantly more signatures than the number needed in order to be less vulnerable to challenges.
4. Petition signers must be eligible to vote in the candidate's district - for statewide candidates, this includes the entire state of Wisconsin. They must write their residential address; PO Boxes are not valid. Ditto marks are acceptable if they follow correct and complete address or date information.
5. People do not need to be registered to vote to sign, but they must be eligible to vote: a US citizen residing in the district, at least 18 years old, not convicted of a felony for which they have not been pardoned.
6. Out of state residents may gather petition signatures if they would not be barred from voting if they lived in Wisconsin (see eligibility requirements above).
7. An individual may only sign ONE petition for each office. For example, one person may not sign for two different candidates for governor, or both of their signatures may be ruled invalid. However, they can still sign for other candidates if they have not yet signed petitions for those offices.
8. Petition circulators may correct missing or illegible address or date information before filing petitions. 
9. The circulator must personally present the nomination paper to each signer. The nomination paper may not be left unattended on counters, bulletin boards or elsewhere.
10. Before filing the petition papers, the circulator must fill out, sign and date the certification on each paper, including their complete residential address. Do NOT fill out the box that says "Page No.".

Ballot Access Petitioning Tips

1. Every signature helps! Whether you can go out and gather 100 signatures, or get friends and family to fill a sheet of 10, we need your help to successfully put our candidates on the ballot.
2. You can download and print petition papers here. You only need to print page 1; page 2 contains rules, regulations and other information.
3. Make sure to read the rules and regulations above before you start gathering signatures. Email [email protected] to coordinate with WIGP petition captains, let us know how many signatures you have, and make sure you know how to fill out the forms correctly. 
4. You can mail completed forms to Wisconsin Green Party, PO Box 108, Madison, WI 53701. Please mail those to us no later than Wednesday May 25th so we can review and process the forms. However, we MUST receive forms by Tuesday May 31st in order to be able to file them on Wednesday June 1st.
5. Carry your petitions on a clipboard with a rubber band holding the bottom so there is no chance they will fly away.  You may want a plastic cover sheet to protect your petitions from rain and various other liquids that could ruin all your hard work. (Pro-tip: put your finished sheets in a folder inside something waterproof).
6. Remember, you are allowed to fill out all the spaces except for the signature space if the elector has trouble with writing.  The information has to be legible, the signature does not.
7. Try carrying 2 or more clipboards. That way, if you are talking to 2 people (which happens frequently) you can ask them both to sign. After the first person says yes (or no) ask the second person "would you be willing to sign (too)?". This is a great way to get a lot of signatures at once, and is more efficient both for you and the people signing.
8. If a signer doesn't know whether to check Town, Village or City, you can tell them to skip it as long as they write the name of the municipality - you will be able to check and fill in the correct box for type of municipality later.
9. Wear a button, T-shirt, etc. to identify yourself as a Green Party worker.  It makes you seem official and less suspicious - yes, people will ask you if they need to write their address and if you will send them mail. Reassure them that they won't receive mail or email (unless they want to sign up separately for Green Party emails).
10. Petition at festivals, parks, universities, community events, in front of libraries, bus stops, or anywhere people gather in public in large numbers.  The most effective spots are where people are waiting around for something.  You can get good numbers in front of food trucks.  Door to door is fine, but you probably will get a similar number of yeses, and you have the added time of walking up to each door - that's probably a max of 10 signatures an hour, as opposed to a max of about 50 signatures an hour in areas with steady foot traffic.  Make sure to get all your family and friends to sign though.  They might take longer (door to door or otherwise) to collect, but they are easy yes answers for you.
11. A sample pitch you can use: "Excuse me, hi! Are you eligible to vote in Wisconsin?" If yes: "Great, can you help me out quick with a signature to get Green candidates on the ballot and give people another choice?" When you ask them to help you out, people are more inclined to help someone who is volunteering on the street than to do something for a cause they might not know much about. The word "quick" reassures them it won't take long. Many people support giving people more choices on the ballot, even if they don't support the Green Party in particular. If they are reluctant, say "This is just to get a candidate on the ballot and give people another choice, it doesn't mean you have to support them".
12. Use positive body language to encourage people to stop and sign. Wave hi to them and make eye contact when you first approach them. As you ask them to sign, begin to hand them the clipboard and pen. When they take it and begin to sign, thank them right away and smile. If you are friendly and make a positive impression, people will be more likely to sign.
13. People will ask you about the Green Party and the candidate.  Be able to recite a few things, and if you are at a loss for words, remember the four pillars - Social justice, Peace, Ecology, Grassroots Democracy (SPEG or SPED depending on which you are inclined to remember better).  If they are trying to get you into a debate, it's usually best to walk away - they don't want to sign, and they are wasting your petitioning time.
14. Remember, our top priority right now is not necessarily to win votes, just to get our candidates as a choice on the ballot. You don't want to take a lot of time explaining the candidates. Just tell people some basic information about the Green Party and focus on the common ground of agreeing with more choices on the ballot. You will generally work more quickly and effectively this way.
15. You have the right to petition in public spaces - don't be timid about asserting this if anyone tells you to leave.  Sidewalks in front of libraries, street festivals, parks, bus stops, outside University buildings are all fair game.  Don't let any security tell you off because it is one of your First Amendment rights. You may also be able to petition on private property if you have permission from the owner or manager.
16. Set a personal signature goal and commit the time to do it. For example, if your goal is 100 signatures, and you gather an average of 20 signatures per hour, schedule at least 5 hours of petitioning time to reach your personal goal.
17. The hardest part of petitioning is just getting started. Once you get going, it's a lot easier to do it and reach your personal goal. Put times and places to petition on your schedule and stick to it, and you'll get it done.
18. Remember: it's a numbers game. Some people will say yes and others will say no, but if we ask enough people then we'll reach our goal. Don't take anything personally, and don't engage with argumentative people. Do take inspiration from the supportive people, and do plan enough time to hit your personal signature goal.
19. Feel free to use other approaches to encourage people to sign: for example, you could mention that you know the candidate, or that the candidate is out gathering signatures too. They're more likely to make the effort if they see you know the candidate, or if they see the candidate is out there working to get on the ballot. 
20. You can still petition when the weather is rainy. Get plastic cover sheets to keep your petition sheets dry, and bring an umbrella. As people sign, hold the umbrella to keep them and your petition sheets dry.
21. Go out to events with a buddy or a team to encourage each other and show new petitioners the ropes.
22. Have fun and be proud of yourself for working for a cause you believe in!

Email [email protected] if you have any questions.